Stuff we like 1 October 2014

Posted by Jo Cameron on 1 Oct, 2014
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PayPal opens the door for Bitcoin, the end for Yahoo Directory, Panda 4.1 winners & losers, and an ad-free social network

PayPal announced recently that they would be accepting Bitcoin payments through its PayPal Payments Hub. Initially rolled out in North America and limited to digital goods, PayPal states:

“To be clear, today’s news does not mean that PayPal has added Bitcoin as a currency in our digital wallet or that Bitcoin payments will be processed on our secure payments platform. PayPal has always embraced innovation, but always in ways that make payments safer and more reliable for our customers. Our approach to Bitcoin is no different. That’s why we’re proceeding gradually, supporting Bitcoin in some ways today and holding off on other ways until we see how things develop.”

bitcoin with paypal logo

Image modified from https://bitcoin.org/ and https://www.paypal.com/

How does the news affect your opinion of digital currencies? If eligible will you consider electing to include Bitcoin payments? We’ll be keeping an eye on how this news affects the Bitcoin price over the next few weeks and months.

Yahoo Directory will close at the end of the year after 20 years. Barry Schwartz considers whether it is of too much historical value to close while some marketers revel in the news considering Google the lesser of two evils.  

The latest Panda update (dubbed Panda 4.1 by Search Engine Land) rolled out on 25 Sep 2014 and is said to be able to pinpoint low quality sites more accurately throwing a bone to small and medium sized sites that might have been previously lumped in with low value sites.

Check out the winners and losers according to Searchmetrics, and make sure you’re following our survival guide to avoid getting slapped.

Ello, the ad-free social network which is invite only for now, has swept the twittersphere possibly because its progressive policy on real names vs pseudonyms contrasts with Facebook’s policy which led to the locking out of transgender and drag performers. Whether you think it is or isn’t going to take down Facebook, a spike in interest in the beta service certainly makes it clear that any mistake by Facebook could be its last, provided something more enticing can capitalize.

Ello social network three smiley faces over profile pictures

Image from ello.com

Unless you’re socialising in the circles where Ello invites are being handed out, you’ll need to request one, and then wait to be accepted.

However if waiting in a digital queue is not for you, and you’re happy to throw some cash around ($9000 to join) then Netropolitan might be for you. Their strapline pretty much covers it:

“Netropolitan: The online country club for people with more money than time”

On that note - see you next week! 

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